The Trump administration is continuing to defend the president's new immigration policy, with press Secretary Sean Spicer accusing the media of misrepresenting the order.

Mr Spicer stressed that the policies - a 120 day ban on refugees coming into the US, the indefinite ban on Syrian refugees and a 90 day freeze on people from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen - are not a "travel ban".

"He [President Trump] has been very clear - it's extreme vetting", he said. "A ban would mean people can't get in. When we use words like 'travel ban' it misrepresents what it is.

"What it is is to make sure that the people are who coming in are vetted properly. The process is working correctly, it's working very well."

His comments in contrast with the wording of the original press release on the executive order:

Sean Spiceer today: “This is not a Muslim ban. It is not a travel ban.”

Attorney General

Mr Spicer went on to discuss the President's firing of Acting Attorney General Sally Yates, saying her choosing not to execute the order was "bewildering and defiant".

"If the Acting Attorney General has an office under her jurisdiction that says that something is legal and compliant, and then she gets out there and says 'I'm not going to enforce', that doesn't sound like an Attorney General that is upholding a duty she swore to uphold.

"This isn't about joining the government to execute your ideas", he said. "He [President Trump] has an agenda that he articulated very very clearly and it is his job to lay that vision out."

Mr Spicer called Ms Yates' actions a "dereliction of duties" and that removing her from her position was "the right thing to do".

SCOTUS

The SCOTUS nominee "will be a worthy successor" to late Antonin Scalia and will make "all Americans very, very proud", according to Mr Spicer.

The two judges who have been considered the top finalists to be the nominee for the Supreme Court - Neil Gorsuch and Thomas Hardiman - are being brought to Washington ahead of tonight's White House announcement, sources tell CNN.